1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to multi-processing systems and the control apparatus employed to initially program a multi-processor configuration and the associated MSUs for operation. More specifically, the present invention is directed to the initial program load control which enables one of a plurality of memory storage units to automatically configure itself as a master and to configure the remaining memory storage units in a processor system as slave memory storage units.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Large mainframe computer systems may be configured as multi-processor computing systems. Heretofore, such multi-processor systems have been reconfigurable so as to isolate or define more than one multi-processor system from the components of a large multi-processor mainframe system. Heretofore, the time required to make hardware and software reconfigurations in a multi-processor system in order to change an application may be as much as an hour. Further, when the multi-processor system is originally manufactured, the extensive use of hardware to reconfigure a multi-processor system has required an inordinate amount of time for manufacture and debugging to assure that the components in a multi-processing system can be properly reconfigured and still be cooperative with each other without producing errors. A typical prior art mutli-processing system for large mainframe computers includes as many as four memory storage units which may be connected in different configurations to as many as four instruction processors and four input/output processors. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a system and means for rapidly configuring and rapidly reconfiguring four MSUs into different configurations for the optimum and most efficient data processing systems.